IAMX

We met up with IAMX frontman Chris Corner to talk about live shows, current projects, plans and his future wine club. Check the interview out!

This June we’ll see you in Moscow one more time. Your next show will be a part of Maxidrom Festival. You have never participated in music festivals in Russia, as far as I know. What do you expect?

I expect insanity. Russian beauties never disappoint me. The last two club shows we played in Russia were mind-blowing. So much love, so much passion. And so much vodka. I feel that there is a deep affinity with the IAMX music.

This year IAMX released a new video, “North Star”. It was shot and edited in Wonder Valley in you small cabin in a desert. This is also the place where Metanoia was written and recorded. Was it important to make the video over there? Why do you love Wonder Valley so much?

I love the silence, the isolation, the winter warmth, and the endless stars. It’s a very unique, alien and artistic place that allows me to be very creative and inspired.

Are you filming and editing all videos by yourself?

Some I do, some I don’t. It is definitely a passion of mine and I’ve become more interested in the technology of cameras and visual making. I’m a secret geek.

Likewise, you prefer MIY-costumes? How do you generate ideas, what inspires you?

I love cabaret, theater, good movies, elegant fashion. It’s also fun to dress up for the live shows and transcend a normal everyday feeling.

Speaking of onstage looks. How much glitter do you use during the tour?

Enough to get a family through Christmas.

There’s an opinion that you evaporate without a trace after the shows. Do you prefer to communicate with the audience only from the stage?

I feel like I can project a purer message to more people on stage than face-to-face, one on one. There’s an emotional and sexual safety to performing on stage. I also suffer from social anxiety, so being on stage is an easier way for me to express myself.

I suppose, you’re the only group that has wine in merch. How did you come up with this idea and do you have a favorite wine?

I’ve always been very fond of red wine. Wine is life. Wine is truth. I like Cabernet at sunset on a beautiful Los Angeles evening. So I wanted to give my fans the opportunity to taste the kind of wine that I like and give them something different to just t-shirts and hoodies. At the moment we are working on setting up an IAMX wine club. Details will come later.

You sang acoustic versions of some songs this year in Maastricht and they sounded amazing (but it’s really hard to get some records). Are you going to make more acoustic shows one day?

Yes. We’re planning an exclusive limited acoustic tour in spring 2017, if all goes to plan. I enjoy singing the songs in their raw form very much.

Now you’re working on something new with Sneaker Pimps. How many tracks are ready, 8? Can you tell us something about them?

We have many songs at different stages of completion. There are too many secrets right now to give away. But it sounds amazing and I’m very happy to be collaborating again.

Finally, can you give some advice to people, who are struggling with the darkness inside?

Wake up every morning with a smile. Have therapy. Don’t ever stop working until you master the skill of happiness. It’s possible to see the world in a different way. But like anything else, it takes a lot of hard work and conviction. Many years of self-reflection and failure. But when you feel the cloud lifting, everything will be worth it.